The present invention relates to a clamp for holding flat objects as they move along a path travel.
A clamp of the generic type, designed in the manner of a pair of tongs, is disclosed in Swiss Patent No. 569 197 and in the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,551. It has a clamping tongue which is permanently arranged on a holding part. A clamping jaw can be pivoted about an axis extending at right angles to the clamping tongue, from an open position into a clamping position, in which it forms a clamping gap with the clamping tongue. The clamping tongue and the clamping jaw can be moved relative to each other in the extent of the clamping gap, away from each other in the open position and toward each other into their clamping position. This makes it necessary for the clamp to be rotated through 90.degree. out of and into the area defined by the object during the opening and closing operations. Simultaneous rotation of the entire clamp and the movement of the clamping jaw relative to the clamping tongue are therefore necessary which, in addition to the space requirement during gripping and releasing an object, requires complicated control. On the other hand, this known clamp has particular advantages. It is self-locking and self-retaining, it adds virtually nothing to the thickness of the flat objects and there is consequently space for it both in an interleaved formation of the objects and in the case of buffering or stacking of the objects--with a virtually constant space requirement. Furthermore, it has such a low weight that, when necessary, it can be carried and held by the object itself.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a clamp of the generic type which, while maintaining the advantages of the known clamp, is simpler to handle.